Graveyard Shift 16 Horrifying, True Tales Of People Who Woke Up In A Morgue

Waking up in a morgue - it sounds like something straight out of a horror move, doesn't it? Strangely even in this day and age, it's more common than you might think. Why does this happen? How can doctors not realize a "dead" body is actually a living person?

Doctors are people, and they aren’t perfect. When doctors think someone has died, they check the patient’s pupils, breathing, heartbeat, and pulse. Sometimes patients may have signs of life that are just too faint to be detected. Another explanation is Lazarus Syndrome - when a person who can’t be brought back to life suddenly regains circulation. No one knows why – or how - this rare situation occurs.

For the people who were declared dead - and then not - the experience can be confusing and frightening. Morgues aren’t meant for living people. People experiencing this real-life nightmare often wake up surrounded by corpses or locked in their own tiny metal drawer. They may feel as if they’ve been buried alive.

The feeling is similar to someone who is conscious during surgery. You’re lying there helpless at the mercy of medical staff, hoping they’ll realize what’s going on and save you.

The unbelievable stories of real people who woke up in the morgue are sure to leave you hoping it never happens to you.

A Grandmother Came Back To Life Twice

Photo: YouTube

In 2011 retired cook and grandmother Lyudmila Steblitskaya was hospitalized for health problems. When her daughter called to check on her, the hospital said her mother had died. It was a Friday night. Steblitskaya was taken to the morgue, where she was to remain until the funeral Monday morning.

When her daughter came to get her body on Monday, doctors said her mother was alive, and brought her to Steblitskaya’s hospital room. Steblitskaya had survived the whole weekend under morgue refrigeration.

“I have a vague recollection of real cold,” Steblitskaya said. Her skin was peeled from her body because of the frigid temperatures. Her daughter and other family members, who had spent the weekend planning for her funeral, were ecstatic to have her back. “It’s a miracle I’m still here,” Steblitskaya said.

In October 2012, she apparently died again during another hospital stay. This time, however, doctors were able to bring her back around within a few hours.

A Baby Came Back To Life After 12 Hours In A Refrigerated Morgue

In Argentina, a premature infant was declared dead just 20 minutes after her birth. Twelve hours after she was placed in a refrigerated coffin, her parents went to the morgue to hold their child and say their last goodbyes.

When her mother held her, the baby let out a little cry. Her mother thought it was her imagination, but doctors soon confirmed her baby was actually still alive. The astonished parents called their daughter Luz Milagros, which means “Miracle Light.”

The baby lived up until a few months after her first birthday, when she died of health complications.

A Man Snored Himself Awake On The Autopsy Table

On January 7, 2018, Gonzalo Montoya Jiménez was discovered unresponsive in his jail cell in northern Spain. Three forensic doctors reportedly examined him, and declared him dead. His body was taken away for an autopsy, and the marks for the procedure were even drawn on him. But then Jiménez began snoring – four hours after he had supposedly died.

The confusion likely arose from Jiménez's condition; he had epilepsy, which can sometimes trigger a deep, trancelike state.

A Bad Hangover Became Even Worse In A Morgue

In 2016, a 25-year-old Polish man named Kamil was out drinking vodka with friends when he suffered a heart attack. He collapsed outside a pub and was taken to a hospital. Unresponsive, he was pronounced dead.

Several hours later, a guard heard noises inside the mortuary refrigerator. The guard thought kids had broken in, but was surprised to find Kamil. The naked “dead man” asked the guard for a blanket.